Rulesets are used in the email to determine which dynamic content should be displayed.

Create new ruleset

You can build a ruleset and add the ruleset to an email.

1. In the email, click Dynamic Content Options.
2. Click Create New Ruleset.
3. Name the content area and ruleset and click Next.
4. Click Add Rule.
5. Define your rules. You might have up to 100 criteria within a rule. As you define a rule, it is recommended that you save the rule.
6. Click Save & Close to return to the email settings screen.

If you add multiple rules, the contact receives only the content that is associated with the first rule that they match in the dynamic content block. Multiple contact matching rules are applied in a fall-back fashion. If the system does not match on the first rule, it tries the second rule, then the third, and so on.

Create a dynamic ruleset based on language

You can create a dynamic content rule based on language if the language is stored in a column.

This use case shows how you can display certain content based on the following rules:

1. For Rule 1, if Language is equal to English (can also use as the Default rule), then show the Area1.Month, which has the content %%format(Birthday, "MMM dd, YYYY")%%.
2. For Rule 2, if Month is equal to December and Language is equal to French, then show Area2.Month, which has the content %%format(Birthday, "dd")%% dec %%format(Birthday, "yyyy")%%.
3. To complete this ruleset, create 11 more rules to cover the remaining months.

Reuse a ruleset 

You can reuse an existing dynamic content ruleset in the email. This option allows you to reuse the rules and either provide new content or use existing content.

1. Open the email.
2. Select the area where you want to insert the dynamic content, click the drop-down menu on the dynamic content toolbar and select Reuse Ruleset.
3. Select the ruleset and click Next.
4. The ruleset might have one or more content areas that are associated with it.
   • To reuse all rules but provide new content, select None: Load Rules Only: Load rules.
   • To duplicate the rules and content in a different area on the email, select an existing content area.
5. Click Next.
6. Select Add Rule to add rules to the ruleset.
7. Select Build/Edit Content to build content for each rule.
8. Select Save to return to the email.

Edit a ruleset

You can edit an existing ruleset from the email.

1. In the email, do one of the following actions:
   • To edit a ruleset in the email body, click the dynamic content placeholder and click the Edit Dynamic Content Options pencil icon.
   • To edit a ruleset in the subject line, open Email Settings. In the subject line, click Add dynamic content and select Edit ruleset.
2. Make your updates.
3. Click Done.
4. Click Save & Close to return to the email body.

Tip: It is not possible to directly change the contact source for dynamic content from within Campaign. However, you can export the ruleset and then import it back into the system. This solution works only if the test list and the regular database have the same columns that are referenced in the dynamic email. Any differences in the columns can cause issues. The best way to ensure that column mapping is to run a query against the regular database and use the query as the test list.

Delete a ruleset

With the email open in the Rulesets tab, complete the following steps:

1. Select the check box next to the Ruleset name.
2. Click the Delete icon.

Add a rule to an existing ruleset

To add a rule to an existing ruleset.

Add existing ruleset from the asset library

You can add an existing ruleset from the asset library and either use existing content or build new content. The ruleset might have one or more content areas that are associated with it.

1. Open your email.
2. Select the area where you want to insert the dynamic content, click Dynamic Content, click Load Ruleset from Library, and click Insert.
3. Choose the ruleset from your shared or private folder.
4. Do one of the following actions:
   • To reuse all rules but provide new content, select None: Load Rules Only.
   • To duplicate the rules and content in a different area on the email, select an existing content area.
5. Click Next.
6. Select Add Rule to add rules to the ruleset.
7. Select Build/Edit Content to build content for each rule.
8. Select Save to return to the email body.

Edit a ruleset in the asset library 

When you edit a saved ruleset in the asset library, the rulesets currently in place are not automatically updated on all existing emails. For these changes to be reflected, you must update each existing email with the new ruleset criteria.

To edit the ruleset in the asset library, complete the following steps.

1. Go to Content > Asset Library.
2. Click the ruleset's asset name.
3. Hover over the rule and click the pencil icon.
4. Edit the rule and save it.

Save a ruleset to the asset library

When you create ruleset, you can save it in the asset library so you can reuse it in another email.

1. In the email, create a ruleset.
2. Click Save to Asset Library.

You can also save an existing ruleset to the asset library.

1. In the email template, click Advanced.
2. Click Rulesets.
3. Click Save to Asset Library.
4. Click Close.

Import a ruleset

You can import a ruleset that is written in XML or in a ZIP file that contains an XML file and associated images with a content block.

1. Open the email.
2. Select the area where you want to insert the dynamic content, click the dynamic content icon, and click Import XML Ruleset.
3. Choose a method for handling the import:
   • Import a ZIP file that contains an XML file and associated images.
   • Import the XML file only.
4. Click Continue.
5. Click Browse to find the file.
6. Select the file from your computer and click Open. The XML file and associated images are loaded into the email.

Export a ruleset

You can export a dynamic content ruleset from an email to your local computer.

1. Open the email and click Advanced.
2. Click Rulesets.
3. Select the ruleset and click Export.
4. Click Yes to confirm that you want to export the ruleset.
5. Click Download File. The system downloads a ZIP file that includes the dynamic content ruleset.
6. Save the ZIP file to a location on your computer.

Use both relational table personalization and dynamic content rulesets

You can use a combination of profile data from the database, dynamic content rulesets, and relational table data to personalize email.

Here's an example:

%%DC::SubjectRuleset::SubjectSport%% Starts Next Week %%First Name%%
%%RT::/Shared/All_Parents_New::Parent Last Name%%

Result = Basketball Starts Next Week Todd Carter

Troubleshooting

A dynamic content ruleset must have a default rule. If a dynamic content ruleset becomes corrupt and the default rule can no longer be accessed, there are several ways to correct the problem.

If you have a working version of the ruleset in the asset library

1. Go to the email content builder.
2. In the design view, hover over the problematic ruleset and click the X button to delete it.
3. Click Yes to confirm the deletion.
4. Load the ruleset from the asset library.

If you have another email with the ruleset

1. Open the email that contains a working version of the ruleset.
2. In the content builder, click Advanced > Rulesets.
3. Select the ruleset and click Save to asset library.
4. Confirm the name and location for the ruleset, then click Continue.
5. Go to Email Campaigns tab and open the email that contains the broken ruleset.
6. In the design view, hover over the problematic ruleset and click the X button to delete it.
7. Click Yes to confirm the deletion.
8. Load the ruleset from the asset library.

If you have a different, previously sent email with the ruleset

1. Go to the Scheduled and sent tab.
2. Locate the email that contains a working version of the ruleset. Click the check box to select the email.
3. Click Save as template.
4. Confirm the name and location of the copy, and click OK.
5. Open the new copy. In the content builder, click Advanced > Rulesets.
6. Select the ruleset and click Save to asset library.
7. Confirm the name and location for the ruleset, then click Continue.
8. The ruleset can now be loaded from the asset library into any template associated with the same database.

If you have an XML version of the ruleset

1. In the design view, hover over the problematic ruleset and click the X button to delete it.
2. Click Yes to confirm the deletion.
3. Import the ruleset XML.

If you do not have access to any working version of the rulesets, you will need to delete it and recreate it.